Product of the Month

The Piment d’Espelette is a hot pepper that has been used for five centuries in a region of France called the Basque country (South West – bordering Spain). The cultivar was originally imported from South America in 1650 but it was quickly integrated into Basque culture as they replaced the pepper with the Espelette Chili […]

Regardless of the way it is consumed, Cognac is, from the far East to the American continent and in Europe, synonymous with great quality, France and its art de vivre. The product is so popular that, worldwide, more than 300 bottles of Cognac are sold per minute—that’s five per second. The Cognac production area, bordering […]

Armagnac is a very old brandy from the Southwest of France. During the Middle Ages it was used for its therapeutic properties; at this time the Armagnac was called “the ardent water” and was sold at local markets but also in the Vatican. The brandy began its commercial development during the sixteenth century and, in […]

In the Southwest region of France called Aquitaine, bordering the largest European estuary named the Gironde, lies the small commune of Pauillac. This little community of around 5,000 people is home to one of the most highly-reputed vineyards for red wine in the country. All of 3000 acres of Pauillac vineyards are located within the […]

The Brioche Vendéenne is the most iconic variations of brioche. In fact, in 2004 it became the first baked good to obtain a Protected Geographic Indication (PGI). Only brioche made in the Vendée and its neighboring departments in central western France are therefore able to call their brioche “Vendéenne,” so long as the strict preparation […]

Beaufort is an exquisite cheese made in the French Alps in the departément Savoie. Beaufort evolved over its hundreds of years of production and gained its own distinctiveness and renown. This dense cheese is of a harder, smooth texture, with a varying shades of yellow depending on which seasonal variety is being produced. Like […]

Le Beurre D’Isigny (‘The Butter from Isigny’) is a renowned, high quality butter produced in the Normandy région in Northwest France. It is made from only the freshest cow’s milk, taken between 24 and 48 hours of natural production, where it is then refined through the old-fashioned churning process. Isigny butter is known for its […]

Pomerol is a flavorful red wine from the “right bank” region of Bordeaux known as the Libournais, considered to be among the most reputable of the Bordeaux appellations. Its renown dates back to the 12th century, when the Knights Hospitaliers of the order of Saint-John of Jerusalem – the precursor to the Knights of Malta […]

The Limousin Region (in the center of France) has been an apple growing haven since Antiquity. Romans were the first to bring the apple tree to this plateaued region, capitalizing on the plant’s predilection for such a dry and elevated geographical setting. Thus began an uninterrupted line of apple production for over two millennia. Widespread […]

The story behind apple cider from Pays d’Auge begins fifteen hundred years ago in the 6th century, at when the apple seed had reached what is now modern day Normandy (Northwest France) from its native continent, Africa. Fermenting apple juice was already a well-established tradition at the time, the alcoholic product known to the Normands […]